Israeli court ruling on major holy site angers Palestinians

By JOSEF FEDERMAN
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — A ruling by a local Israeli court in favor of a Jewish man who prayed quietly at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site has angered Muslim authorities, who say it violates the fragile arrangement governing the compound. The Al-Aqsa mosque compound is the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of the Jewish temples in antiquity. It is the emotional epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and tensions there helped ignite the 11-day Gaza war in May. Under an informal agreement, Jews are allowed to visit the site but not pray there.